Reggae Christmas, various artists (Sanctuary/Trojan)

Here's another collection of 1960s reggae/ska Christmas tunes from 2001. Fewer than half of the tunes on this collection are classic carols, the rest are originals. There are no liner notes and no evidence of this CD's existence at the labels' websites, so I'm guessing these tunes were recorded in the 60s and possibly early 70s. An initial tip on this CD suggested some tunes were recently recorded, but I don't buy that. Anyway, there is some fairly entertaining stuff here. "Christmas Time Again" by Rueben Anderson, with its vibes and R&B rhythm, has the feeling of an American soul record of the Sixties. "Jingle Bells" by Studio Three is a more traditional Caribbean beat, "Christmas Parade" by Rupie Edwards wafts along on the then-emerging reggae beat, and the Granville Williams Orchestra asserts that "Santa Claus Is Ska-ing To Town." Alton Ellis and the Lipsticks kick off "Merry Merry Christmas" by arguing about the rent, Neville Willoughby whistles about "Christmas in J.A.," Desmond Dekker and the Aces do "Christmas Day" as a slow soul ballad, and you hear bits of dub technique on Johnny Clarke's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," followed by the real thing when the Aggrovators take off on the exact same recording. John Holt reggaes up "Blue Christmas" real nice, but "White Christmas" by Jackie Edwards is a cheesy attempt at the Irving Berlin classic. It's a bit of a stretch to say that you'll want to hear all 21 tunes together, as the recording quality of a lot of these tunes was chintzy even for the time, but there are enough hits here that you won't mind the misses.